File Me or Delete Me – Please!
During the last few Thriving in Chaos workshops I have presented, the issue causing the most chaos in the workplace was e-mail. There is just too much of it and people don't know what to do with it. I was at lunch with a client recently who told me that she gets between 50-100 e-mails a day and often answers them at home in the evening. This is not good for anyone. Even if you aren't answering them at home, they are probably an issue for you as well.
I did a bit of research for you and have listed a few good ideas for managing your e-mail. I will list the websites that the ideas have come from if you'd like to read further. Perhaps there will be one or two strategies that might be effective for you. Please, do me a favor: after you read this e-mail, put it in a file for professional development or delete it. Don't leave it in your inbox weighing you down mentally. File me or delete me – either way is just fine with me!
8 Tips for Managing E-mail Overload by Sarah Baker
1. Check Personal E-mail Once or Twice a Day.
2. Read and Answer Immediately.
3. Keep Your Replies Short and Sweet.
4. Use the Folders and Filters in your E-mail Program.
5. File, Delete, Search.
6. Before You Reply ask yourself, "Is this the most effective way to answer this question?"
7. Unsubscribe to Listserves and Other Online Groups That Send Lots of E-mail.
8. Get a Separate E-mail for personal business.
Refuse to be a slave to your inbox! Use your e-mail as an effective tool. These tips will start you on the right path to managing your information overload.
WAHM.com Sarah Baker is a documentary filmmaker and writer currently living in New Bern, NC.
Practice the 4 Ds by Emma Donaldson-Feilder
(www.nhs.uk/livewell/stressmanagement)
We can spend up to half our working day going through our e-mail inbox, making us tired, frustrated and unproductive. A recent study found that one-third of office workers suffer from e-mail stress.
Making a decision the first time you open an e-mail is crucial for effective time management. To manage this burden effectively, Donaldson-Feilder advises practicing the 4 Ds of decision-making:
- Delete: half of the e-mails you get can probably be deleted immediately.
- Do: if the e-mail is urgent or can be completed quickly.
- Delegate: if the e-mail can be better dealt with by someone else.
- Defer: set aside time at a later date to spend on e-mails that require longer action.
Tips for Mastering E-mail Overload by Stever Robbins
(http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4438.html)
A great productivity enhancer? Ha! E-mail can be a tremendous waste of time unless you know how to tame the savage beast, says Stever Robbins.
Overcoming E-Mail Overload at Work by Renee Montagne
(http://npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyID=4490997)
There has been an explosion of e-mail in offices across the country, and not all of it is spam. Answering 50 or 100 e-mails a day — or just wading through them — can disrupt workflow and cost money. Business consultant Marilyn Paul offers ways to rein in e-mail — and make it a tool instead of a burden.
Managing Your E-Mail by Marilyn Paul
Using e-mail well can be a challenge. Marilyn offers some ways to improve:
- Meet as a team to review e-mail use. Identify what works, what doesn't, and why. Create a trial period for improvement: Meet to discuss after a week.
- Use subject-line protocols to speed communication: a.) No reply needed – NRN; b.) Thank you - TY; c.) Need response by date and time – NRB 10/30 3:00 pm; d.) Use subject line for whole message: Meet 10:00 10/30 Okay? END
- Determine who needs to be copied on what, what needs to be read, and what needs to be filed.
- Keep e-mails short. Most should be no more than 1-10 sentences. Communicate your main point in the first sentence or two. Don't make readers work because you don't have time to focus.
- Don't deliver bad news in an e-mail message. If it's urgent, pick up the phone. Use tone of voice to indicate concern, but not anger.
- After two rounds of problem-solving on e-mail, pick up the phone.
- Don't hide behind e-mail. Any sensitive communications should be done in person.
- If you can't answer a request immediately, let the other party know when you can respond, or if you can't.
- NO EMOTIONAL E-MAILS: To resolve a conflict, schedule a meeting or use the phone. E-mail arguments tend to be huge time-wasters. Never send a hasty, irritated response to an annoying e-mail -- jobs have been lost that way.
By keeping messages short and refusing to let circles of conversation take place in round after round of e-mail, workers and their colleagues can handle tasks more effectively, according to Paul, who holds a Ph.D. in organization and management from Yale and an M.B.A. from Cornell.
And at all costs, emotional or angry e-mails should be avoided, Paul says. For messages meant to pass on sensitive information — or resolve a conflict or misunderstanding — she recommends using the phone, or taking a step that can seem downright old-fashioned: meeting face to face
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Tracy Knofla
High Impact Training
PS. Feel free to share this with your friends and colleagues